Archives for July 13, 2011

“The key to this play is play” notes playwright and director John Sowalsky in the program for 261.626: A Re-Sounding Comedy. I think he sums it up quite nicely. 216 is playful without being thoughtless and spirited without being soulless. It’s fun, without being total fluff. Not too shabby!

You gotta wonder what women did to David Mamet to deserve such misogynist treatment in the play Oleanna and now with Race. Playwright Edward Albee has addressed his thorny relationship with his mother in many of his works with elegance, wit and sophistication, while conversely Mr. Mamet is ham-fisted in his obvious hatred of the female […]

A conversation between Ben Cunis of Synetic Theater and Ivan Caracalla of Caracalla Dance Theater of Lebanon Caracalla is, by all accounts, a phenomenon. Founded in 1968 by Abdel Halim Caracalla, the Lebanese dance-theater has toured all over the world, bringing its unique fusion of Middle-Eastern dance styles and Martha Graham’s developments in the form […]

If Bruce Lee had played Lite-Brite as a youngster, Illuminate is the kind of show he may have conceived. Instead kudos go to Johnny Shryock, producer, director and composer of Illuminate, who performs with an incredible cast: Jamie Noguchi, Charles Shryock IV, Nick Oben, Mike Stahly, Brad Lust, and Zach Stahly. Together they wrote and […]